Nintendo Co has lost a bid to keep competitors from selling devices that modify its video games after the US Supreme Court refused to hear its arguments against an appeals court ruling in favour of Lewis Galoob Toys Inc, which offers Game Genie, which plugs into the Nintendo Entertainment System and cartridges, enabling players to use a simple code to change up to three elements of a game at a time; the appeals court wrote that because Game Genie doesn’t cause any permanent change to the Nintendo cartridges – and is dependent upon a cartridge and the Nintendo system in order to operate – it does not usurp Nintendo’s copyright; Nintendo said Game Genie violates a copyright owner’s exclusive right under the Copyright Act of 1976 to authorise or prepare derivative works.
